55-703897 Strategic Sourcing Procurement Level 7 Assessment Brief T1 : Coursework ( Academic Report and Presentation)

55-703897 Assessment Brief (Task 1)

Learning Outcomes:

Assessed Module Learning Outcomes

LO 1: To evaluate the strategic importance of purchasing in the supply chain.
LO 2: To appraise the appropriate use of procurement principles to meet business and customer needs.

Overview

Finding eligible suppliers with whom one can form long-lasting, deep relationships is a strategic problem. A firm's competitiveness highly depends on its suppliers, increasing the strategic role they play in the supply chain (SC) (Narasimhan and Talluri, 2009). Therefore, supplier selection and evaluation are pivotal to managing and developing an effective and efficient supply chain (Wu and Blackhurst, 2009). Organisations need structured and well-developed methods to evaluate candidate suppliers. Taking into account the various sources of complexity in SCs, achieving the right path of analysis with a sound framework is not a trivial task. Supplier selection may have side effects like complexity and fragmentation (Awasthi et al., 2018), which can lead to unsustainable production on the supply side (Fahimnia et al., 2015a, Fahimnia et al., 2015b). Sustainable sourcing practices suggest purchasing from and outsourcing to sustainable suppliers only (Fahimnia and Jabbarzadeh, 2016). The most sustainable suppliers, however, may not necessarily be the best-performing suppliers. Other factors, such as supplier risk, should also be considered. Without using a structured supplier risk assessment method, supplier sustainability can only be achieved randomly, which may result in adverse effects on corporate reputation (Foerstl et al., 2010).
What each group MUST do (task requirements)

You are required to produce an academic report consisting of two integrated components:

1. Critical Evaluation

You must demonstrate a comprehensive and critical appraisal of the existing body of knowledge, identifying key themes, debates, and research gaps relevant to strategic sourcing and procurement.

Your discussion should be analytical and evidence-based, drawing on relevant academic literature, industry reports, and best practice frameworks.

2. Novel Proposal

Building upon the insights derived from your critical evaluation, you are required to design and justify a novel proposal that provides a structured process for organisations or users to strategically identify, assess, and select their supplier base. This proposal should consider critical factors, potential risks, and practical barriers, thereby supporting the achievement of supply chain resilience.

Your proposal should include the following elements:

• A clearly articulated framework, model, or process flow diagram that demonstrates the strategic supplier identification and selection process.
• A discussion explaining how your proposed solution enables organisations to enhance supply chain resilience, specifically through improved supplier selection and risk management.
• An evaluation of how the implementation of your proposal could support performance measurement, particularly through the identification and monitoring of relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Group Formation

1. As announced at the beginning of the module by the Module Leader, all students must finalise their group formation by Friday, 10 October 2025, at 12:00 p.m.
2. Each student is responsible for forming a group of five members and self-enrolling via the Group Tab on the Blackboard module page. If you need assistance or clarification, please contact your tutor.
3. Do not join any group without the prior consent of all existing members in that group.
4. Once the group has been created with mutual agreement among members, the composition of the group cannot be altered.
5. After the stated deadline, any student who has not self-enrolled will be automatically assigned to a group by Blackboard's Auto-Enrolment system, and these allocations cannot be changed.
6. Module Tutors have no sole authority or responsibility to manually add or remove students from any group. 7. It is highly recommended that you form your group within your assigned seminar group, as this will provide more opportunities for in-class collaboration and enhance the quality of your group's final outputs, both the written report and group presentation.

Deliverables

1. Academic Report (Recommended Structure and Content to Include)
Your group is required to produce a professionally structured academic consultancy report that critically evaluates the existing literature and presents a novel, evidence-based proposal for strategic supplier selection and risk management.
The report should follow the structure below:

• Title Page - Use the official Cover Page Template available in the Assessment Folder.
• Abstract ($250 words) - A concise summary of the report's purpose, approach, key findings, and proposed framework.
• Table of Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Introduction and Problem Statement-Clearly define the purpose, scope, and objectives of the report; outline the sourcing and procurement context and its significance to supply chain resilience.
• Critical Evaluation (Literature Review and Theoretical Foundation) - Provide an analytical review of the literature.
• Methodology - Explain the analytical approach and justification for the framework or model proposed (qualitative/quantitative reasoning, conceptual development, and rationale).
• Novel Proposal (Framework/Model/Process Flow) - Present and justify your original framework, model, or process diagram that outlines the strategic supplier identification and selection process, addressing key factors, risks, and barriers.
• Discuss how this proposal enables organisations to achieve greater supply chain resilience and continuous improvement.
• Performance Measurement and Control Plan - Evaluate how the proposed model supports organisational performance appraisal, identifying key KPIs, measurement mechanisms, and feedback loops for continuous monitoring.
• Critical Reflection and Limitations-Reflect on analytical challenges, assumptions, and potential limitations in the proposed framework or model.
• Conclusion and Recommendations-Summarise the study's key insights, emphasising practical and actionable recommendations for implementation.
• References (APA 7th Edition) - Cite all sources accurately following SHU's referencing guidelines.
• Appendices - Include relevant supporting materials such as data summaries, framework diagrams, detailed tables, and the signed Peer and Self-Assessment (PSA) form.

2. Group Presentation

Each group will deliver an oral presentation to demonstrate and defend their analytical findings and proposed model.

• Duration: Maximum 18 minutes for the presentation, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session with the review panel.
• Format: PowerPoint presentation.

Slide Template: Use the official Presentation Template provided in the Assessment Folder.

• Content: The presentation should accurately reflect the key findings, literature insights, analytical outcomes, and the proposed novel framework or model from your written report. This is your opportunity to showcase teamwork, analytical reasoning, and consultancy professionalism.
• Delivery Date: Friday, 07 November 2025.

All group members must actively participate in the delivery.
Presentation slots and panel allocation will be announced via Blackboard in due course.

Academic integrity & use of Al tools

Cite sources in APA7.

Declare any use of generative Al in a brief methods statement and show how you validated outputs. Contract cheating is forbidden; tutors will follow university regulations if misconduct is suspected.

Submission

The final Report should be submitted by only one member to the Blackboard Submission Point (Turnitin is enabled) on or before the due date and time.

Procedure for Non-Contributing Members

All members of the group are expected to contribute equally to the task of analysing research and preparing the report. You must work together on all aspects of the task.

• Whilst group meetings are encouraged to discuss and exchange ideas, it is strongly advised that you also use the group discussion boards, shared documents, and online portal systems to work on this task. This will assist with construction, compilation and thus contribution and will improve access and communication between group members.
• Only if there are issues within your group regarding non-contributing members, you should immediately report the matter to your assigned group tutor, who will initiate the additional steps outlined below.
• If the issue remains unresolved, the tutor will instruct all group members to complete the "Peer and Self- Assessment of Contribution to Group Task" form, available in the Assessment folder.

The tutor will use these completed forms to guide the marking process, ensuring grades reflect each individual's level of contribution.

• All discrepancies must be addressed and resolved before submission, and each member must provide final consent by signing the form, as no objections will be accepted after submission.
• The final, manually signed (not electronic) PSA form must be included in the appendices of your final report.
  Formative Feedback
• Your group must agree on a suitable time to receive feedback, as it can only be obtained once before the final submission.
• Group-Tutor allocation details will be announced on Blackboard after the completion of the group self- enrolment process.
  Summative Assessment and Feedback
• Provisional grades and feedback will be released on Blackboard within three weeks after the submission deadline, and the grades will be out of 100.
• The grades will be moderated before being ratified by the University Assessment Board (AB).

55-703897 Assessment Criteria: